Inside the
Suvarnabhumi Airport, we are swamped by promoters of private vehicle and limousines companies. For a ride to downtown
Bangkok which is about 30km west, costs vary from ฿600 or so up to ฿1500. We ignored them and made our way to the nearest taxi stand. The person at the taxi stand desk quoted a flat rate of ฿400 to our hotel. Not wanting to be fleeced so early into the trip, we decided to seek local advice on a fair taxi rate.
Tip 1: Avoid the taxi counter inside the arrival hall and avoid the runners for un-metered taxis.
We approached a friendly gentleman and he advised us to go by the taxi meter. By international standards, Bangkok taxis are very cheap; the flag down rate is ฿35, airport surcharge is ฿50, and the expressway tolls are ฿60. With all the fees included, the total cost will be around ฿250 for
Sukhumvit up to ฿350 - ฿400 to
Khao San.
Tip 2: Always insist the drivers to switch on the meter.
At the same time, we also booked an early morning canal half day private tour from him for a total of ฿1000.
One thing I find amusing at the taxi stand is that the taxi drivers actually need to queue up (out of their vehicles) and wait for passengers!
Tip 3: Make your way to the departure level, walk outside to where in-coming passengers are being dropped off, hail the taxi there and make sure the driver switches on the meter. Ignore the taxi stand at the arrival level altogether, as they know that if you are clever enough to avoid the taxi scams, you are wise enough to expect the ride to be on the meter.
Our journey to
First House Hotel at the popular
Pratunam wholesale shopping district cost us ฿350.
Tip 4: Try and get some change at the airport of ฿1000 notes to ฿20, ฿50 and ฿100 ones, don't be surprised if the taxi driver hasn't got (or claims not to have) any change. If you do get caught in this kind of situation, you can always get out and get smaller notes by buying something from the nearest 7-11 store. This tactic often leads to the driver suddenly remembering where his change is kept.
Tip 5: Tipping of taxi drivers is not really a Thai practice, though rounding the fare up to the nearest ฿5 or ฿10 is fairly common. Any more is not expected and not really necessary.
By the time we finished checking into our hotel, it was already 22 00. We decided to explore the area to settle our dinner. We first went to the nearby Chalermok Market but it was already closed. We proceeded to the famous
Pratunam Market, and likewise, the shops were closed, however there were still some street-side hawkers. The food was cheap, about 50%-80% cheaper compared to the equivalent in Singapore.
We bought the food and a 1.25l bottle of Coke (฿27) back to our hotel to fill our stomachs and retired for the night as we had to get up early for the morning canal tour the next day.
